Food > Labelling > Guide to Food Labelling and Advertising PrefacePrinter-friendly PDF version: Preface plus Table of Contents Since 1961, the Guide for Food Manufacturers and Advertisers has served as an important reference document for the food industry on policies and regulations for the labelling and advertising of foods in Canada, in particular those falling under the Food and Drugs Act and Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act. By providing clear policy advice and basic ground rules respecting the use of labelling and claims, the Guide seeks to enhance industry compliance and consumer protection. In recent years, the Guide has undergone two major amendments, in 1993 and again, ten years later, in 2003. In 1993, a review of the Guide was initiated and included:
At that time, a Review Committee comprised of industry and consumer associations (see membership below) advised on planning and priorities for the project and reviewed in detail the Guide format, content, distribution and updating process as well as individual policy proposals. A sub-group of the Review Committee (Canadian Advertising Foundation, Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors and the Grocery Products Manufacturers of Canada) developed the guiding principles on behalf of the food industry, in consultation with the associations which are listed as supporting the principles. The result of the review was an expanded Guide, the "Guide to Food Labelling and Advertising". A number of policies were revised or introduced as a result of consultation: "Kosher", "Home-made", "Organic", "Bran", "Lean", "Sweetened", "Salted", "Fresh", "Negative Claims", "Compliance Guidelines for Nutrition labelling" and "% (name of the nutrient)-Free". Others had minor updates or included new information. In 2003, the Guide underwent another amendment process to include the nutrition labelling, nutrient content claims and diet-related health claims amendments of the Food and Drug Regulations. The Guide was reorganized, reformatted, updated and expanded to include guidelines on the nutrition labelling format, nutrient content claims, and diet-related health claims. Industry and Consumer Associations will be asked to confirm their support of the guiding principles. The revised Guide was renamed the 2003 Guide to Food Labelling and Advertising (the 2003 Guide) Amendments will be made to the 2003 Guide to further clarify policies or as new policies are issued. In addition, the 2003 Guide will be expanded to include labelling requirements specific to commodities. AmendmentsThe 2003 Guide to Food Labelling and Advertising is available on the Internet at http://www.inspection.gc.ca To find out about amendments, visit the 2003 Guide to Food Labelling and Advertising website or contact the Fair Labelling Practices Program, Canadian Food Inspection Agency at Tel: (613) 225-2342; Fax: (613) 221-7295. Guiding Principles for the Federal Food Labelling and Advertising System1. Policies will be developed in a responsible manner to ensure that federal food labelling policies and regulations:
2. Consultations will be conducted in a timely and thorough manner with interested parties so that regulations and policies will be responsive to stakeholder needs. 3. Final regulations and policies will be communicated to all stakeholders:
4. Enforcement of regulations and policies will be applied in a fair and responsible manner. Guiding Principles for Labelling and Advertising by the Canadian Food and Beverage IndustryThe Canadian food and beverage industry, working in partnership with government, is committed to:
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